WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump’s pursuit of privatizing the nation’s air traffic control system (all times local):
12:25 p.m.
President Donald Trump is making the case for privatizing the nation’s air traffic control system.
Trump says the overhaul would improve customer service by reducing costs, wait times and technology.
Trump says during a White House announcement that the current system is “stuck painfully in the past. He says, “today we’re proposing to take American air travel into the future. Finally.”
FAA officials say the agency has made progress during the past decade in updating its computers and other equipment. Opponents worry the new system would be dominated by airline interests.
Trump is laying out his plans as part of a larger focus on improving the country’s infrastructure.
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4:07 a.m.
President Donald Trump is laying out his vision for overhauling the nation’s air traffic control system on Monday. He’s planning to outline his goals to privatize the system in a White House speech that will be closely watched by the airline industry.
Trump plans to push for the separation of air traffic control operations from the Federal Aviation Administration. It’s an approach that has long been championed by U.S. airlines.
The president is expected to point to the changes as a way of accelerating a more modern air traffic control system.
There are about 50,000 airline and other aircraft flights a day in the United States.
Both sides of the privatization debate say the system is one of the most complex and safest in the world.
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